


Papi's Little Angel

by Ladyanaconda



Series: Tears of Despair and Joy [12]
Category: Book of Life (2014)
Genre: Family Drama, Father's Day, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Gen, Multi, Widowed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-04-03 06:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4090078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyanaconda/pseuds/Ladyanaconda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Father's day special. After a heated argument with her father, Marigold runs away and meets a Forgotten girl, who makes her realize how important fathers can be for daughters, even if sometimes they have to take tough decisions. I know it's a bit early, but happy father's day everyone!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_‘Cuando llego a casa y me descubre, sonríe alegremente y me tiende su prodigiosa ternura, como si yo fuera todos los días un feliz hallazgo para ella, cuando ella lo es siempre para mi.’_ **

**_‘When I get home and she finds me, she smiles happily and gives me her prodigious tenderness, as if I was a happy finding for her every day, when she will always be for me.’_ **

* * *

_“Why not, papi?! Just tell me!”_

_“You’re only seven, Marigold, you’re too young. You need to wait until you’re older.”_

_“You always say the same thing!”_

_Marigold had never been in her father’s study before, he never let her in, thinking she would unintentionally break something or mess with the paperwork. The only times she had been there was when her father scolded her for something, but she barely got in trouble. Still, his study could be called frightening, at least in her opinion since she wasn’t used to the place. An obsidian desk with various papers scattered on top of it and a long black quill resting on an inkwell, an ebony seat, a great unadorned window that overlooked into the Land of the Forgotten, thin curtains and bookshelves filled with books. Xibalba was looking down at his daughter with great seriousness, his hands behind his back and his wings tucked close to his body._

_“It’s not fair!” Marigold crossed her arms._

_“What’s not fair, Marigold?” Xibalba insisted, his gaze not leaving her. “Going to the mortal realm is no game, it’s a serious matter. You do not control your powers yet, many things could happen-”_

_“What could happen?! Auntie Carmen says San Ángel it’s beautiful!”_

_“Carmen is not a goddess.”_

_“Why do you have to be like this?!”_

_“Marigold, I’m your father. My duty is to protect you, and I won’t stop doing it.”_

_“It’s unfair! I don’t need you to be watching over me!”_

_He snapped. “Watch your tone, **jovencita**!” _

_“How come Tlaloc’s daughters can go to the Land of the Living?!”_

_“Tláloc is an irresponsible father, his daughters are rash and reckless. They’ve caused a lot of trouble for humans.”_

_“You’re saying I’d cause trouble? You don’t trust me?”_

_“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Marigold! I just don’t think you’re ready to go to the mortal realm yet.”_

_“Mami would have let me go!”_

_That opened a wound in his heart. “Do not mess your mother in this! This is between you and me!” the dark god growled._

_“Just one day! It’s all I’m asking!”_

_“This conversation is over.” Xibalba turned his back on his daughter, and walked towards the window._

_The next words she spoke would haunt her for the rest of her life. “I wish you had died and not mami!”_

_“ENOUGH!”_

_Xibalba turned around to glare at his daughter, his wings flaring out and his teeth gone sharp. She had struck a nerve. Marigold stepped back in fright; he had never raised his voice at her._

_“Go to your room, you’re not having dinner tonight.” He growled at her, pointing at the door. “I don’t want to see you until next morning!”_

_Her eyes swelled up with tears. “But-!”_

_“Now!”_

_Under the threatening shadow of her father, she ran out of the study, then down the hall, and into her room, slamming her doors shut and jumping unto her bed to cry and bawl into her pillows._

That was three hours ago. Although she had calmed down, most of her pillows were scattered across the floor, even Rattles was on the other side of the room; she didn’t want anything that had to do with her father right now. She didn’t understand, why he was so on the defensive, she only asked him one thing, and still he refused. It was always for the same reason, that she was too young. What did she have to do to prove him she was ready to visit the land of the living? Spend a night out?

… Maybe that’s what she had to do. Prove him that she was old enough to take care of herself, maybe then he would agree to take her to San Ángel. Still, the idea of going into her father’s realm at night was frightening, recalling her past experience with the Forgotten beasts. But when children were angry, they always made rash actions.

Still sobbing, Marigold stood from bed and took her pillows back to her bed to accommodate them, save for one that was about her size, and she accommodated under her blankets. It would look like she was sleeping. She grabbed her sweater and put on her boots, and her pink satchel. Then she slowly opened her door and looked around to make sure there was no one around, when she was certain the coast was clear, she quickly ran down the hall, avoiding the servants and making her way to the kitchen, luckily there was no one in there at this hour. Making her way to the pantry, she grabbed some _pan de muerto_ , grapes and a water bottle and tucked them safely into her satchel. Then she ran out of the kitchen and into the courtyard, knowing the main gates were closed shut at this hour, but luckily she could climb the vines of the courtyard wall and into the entrance yard. She shivered at the drop of temperature as soon as she was outside, the snow crunching under her boots as she ran towards the vines. She carefully climbed up the wall, her wings tucking close to her body and flapping instinctively when she felt she was about to lose her balance. A few minutes later she climbed over the wall, and down the vines from the other side, taking her another ten minutes. She passed by in front of the stable-Juarez was asleep on top of a pile of hay, snoring soundly- and then ran down the bridge. The bubbling lava at the sides made her nervous, but she continued nevertheless.

Half an hour later she was walking through the rough terrain, trying her best not to touch any of the stalactites or spikes growing on the ground, though she did scrap her knees or her arms every now and then. Marigold stared to tremble from the cold, she the air was so cold she could even see her own breath and so her wings wrapped instinctively around her body. She had to find a place where to spend the night before she froze like a popsicle. After walking for what she felt an eternity and her feet started to ache, Marigold finally came across a cave that seemed to be unoccupied, and she immediately ran inside, clutching her satchel close to her chest just in case, it was so dark she couldn’t see anything. Luckily, her father had already taught her how to make fireballs, and so it was easy to conjure one to illuminate her way further into the cavern.

Finally, her feet could go no further, and she sat down, her fireball still floating next to her. She was exhausted, and still angry at her father, but right now all she wanted was to take a nap. Marigold accommodated herself unto the hard ground with some effort, using her satchel as a pillow, and after a while she managed to get drowsy. With a yawn of exhaustion, Marigold finally fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Xibalba didn’t suspect his daughter was missing when he opened his eyes. After getting dressed, he headed to the dining hall, expecting Marigold to be already there, but he didn’t find her there. Initially he assumed she was still asleep, but as minutes passed, she didn’t come down. When twenty minutes had passed, she still hadn’t come down, and it made him worry. Finally, he decided to go and check up on her. He felt bad about what happened last night, and wanted to make up with her. When he was in front of the doors to her room, he knocked the door gently. “Marigold?” There was no reply. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

When he heard no sound coming from within, he turned the knob and opened the door. He saw his daughter’s figure under the blankets, unmoving. It seemed she was still angry at him.

“Marigold, I…” he was at loss of words, he didn’t know what to say, he merely approached the side of her bed. “About last night…”

But upon closer inspection, he realized she was completely immobile, her chest was not rising from breathing. He couldn’t even hear her breathing at all. Alarmed, he reached out and pulled the blanket away.

He nearly had a heart attack when he found a pillow in his daughter’s place, and Marigold nowhere to be found.

* * *

Marigold woke up with a sore back, and her wings stretched to try and ease the soreness to little avail, she rubbed her eyes and looked around, still inside the cave and with no apparent sign that any Forgotten had wandered in there to hide from the cold. Her stomach growled in hungry protest, in her hurry she had forgotten she didn’t have any dinner last night, so she started searching in her satchel for her grapes and avidly devoured them. Suddenly, she felt heard a sound coming from the outside of the cave, and it was becoming louder. Someone was running inside.

Panicking, Marigold immediately ran behind a rock and hid from view, in case it was her father. However, soon she realized the footsteps sounded too light to be her father’s, and guessed it was just a Forgotten. Reluctantly, Marigold took a glance from her hiding spot, and stared at her new companion. Much to her surprise, she found the Forgotten who had entered was not only a female, but she was also of about her age, maybe a year older. Like all beings that lived in this realm, she was a black and green skeleton, though much smaller, and with dark straight shoulder-length hair. Her only clothing was a white dress that had patched missing and was ripped off at the hem of the skirt. The young girl sat down with her back against the rocky wall and hugged her knees, panting heavily, sobbing as her eyes swelling up with tears.

Marigold couldn’t help but feel bad for this Forgotten girl, though she was reluctant to leave her hiding spot, there was a possibility that she was hostile. However, she looked so sad, that in the end Marigold decided to talk to her and maybe cheer her up a bit. “ _Hola_?”

The Forgotten girl gasped in fright and would have crawled backwards if she weren’t against the wall. It took her a while to reply. “Who are you?”

“I’m Marigold.” The young goddess replied gently, approaching carefully to avoid scaring her any further. “And you?”

The Forgotten girl looked down sadly, her chin resting on her knees. “I don’t remember anymore…”

Marigold sat down next to her, her wings wrapped around her body. “And how should I call you? I wouldn’t like to be calling you girl all the time.”

“Well…” the Forgotten thought for a few seconds. “You could call me Sophia.”

“Why?”

“I like it.”

The two girls heard a tiny growl, and Sophia realized it was her stomach. Marigold noticed, and once more searched into her satchel, this time she took out one of her _pan de muerto_ , and held it out for her. “Here, have some bread.”

Sophia stared at it for a while. “But… it’s yours.”

“Don’t worry, I already ate a bunch of grapes. I don’t mind sharing a loaf with you.”

Reluctantly, Sophia accepted the loaf of bread from Marigold and took a bite, her face lit up at the sweet taste and she started devouring the treat avidly. It had been so long since she ever ate something as delicious as this. Just then, Sophia noticed Marigold looked nothing like an ordinary spirit, unlike the Forgotten she looked pure and non-skeletal, with beautiful dark hair and wings. “Who are you, Marigold? You don’t look like a ghost.”

“I’m not a ghost, I’m a goddess.” Marigold explained.

A goddess… “Are you princess Marigold? Daughter of Xibalba?”

She nodded. “He’s my papá.”

At the word ‘papá’, Sophia’s eyes swelled up with tears and she hugged her knees, making Marigold panic a bit. “What’s wrong?! D-Did I say anything wrong?”

“N-No, don’t worry…” Sophia tried to blink her tears away, but her eyes were already moistly. “Do you live with your mamá too?”

“No. She died when I was born.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. How did you get here?”

“I ran away from home.”

Sophia glanced at her in bewilderment. “Why would you do that?”

“Papá doesn’t understand me!” Marigold retorted, crossing her arms. “He won’t take me to San Ángel because he thinks I’m ‘too young’, but I’m already seven! I can take good care of myself!”

“So this is a revenge?”

“Yes-No! I just want to show him he doesn’t have to be worrying over me so much!”

“And you do so by worrying him even more.”

At those words, Marigold looked down at the ground. “Well, yeah, but…”

“He must be really worried-sick about you.”

“How would you know? He was very angry at me yesterday, because of the fight we had, I doubt he has even noticed I left.”

“Because I was like you.” Sophia said gravely.

That caught Marigold by surprise. “What do you mean?”

Sophia started to sob once again. “When I was alive, I lived with my papá in a town a few kilometers away from San Ángel. My mamá died when I was three, and papá was always watching over me, so much I was barely allowed out of his sight. Eventually I grew tired of it, and one night we fought. I wished him dead…” Tears started to roll down her cheeks in regret. “Later that night, bandits attacked and they killed him…” Sophia sniffled, now barely managing to speak without sobbing. “I was hidden under the bed, but they found me and killed me, when I next woke up, I was down here but my papá was nowhere to be seen…” Finally she could take it no more and burst out in tears. “I’ve b-been looking f-for him, but I c-can’t find him!”

Marigold hugged her knees, her eyes mirroring Sophia´s tears. “That’s horrible…”

“I miss him… I wish I had never said those horrible things to him. Maybe he’d still be alive. I never wanted him to die, I loved him very much…”

The young goddess looked down guiltily. “Last night I told my papá that I wished he had died instead of mamá…” What if he did just that? What if he died? “But I didn’t mean it! I was mad at him!”

“I was mad at my papá too…” Sophia replied, managing to calm down. “I understood too late that he was just trying to take good care of me.”

“But then why are fathers always telling children what they can or can’t do?”

“They are just trying to protect us, because they love us. Fathers do what they think it’s best for their children.”

Marigold felt even worse about what happened, she didn’t want to imagine how worried her father must be right now, or how angry he’d get when he found her, though she knew she deserved it. But she felt bad for Sophia, she didn’t deserve what was happening to her.

“We could go back. I bet my papá knows where your papá is, he says everyone who comes down has to meet him first.” She suggested.

Sophia turned to look at her in surprise. “R-Really? You would do that for me?”

“Why not? I think you deserve to reunite with your papá.” Marigold replied, smiling a bit. “Besides, I think I should get back. Papá must surely be mad at me, but I bet he’ll help you.”

“We should go now, then. Before the monsters come.”

Marigold shivered in fright at the memory, recalling how they almost killed her a year ago, though luckily her father saved her. But she wasn’t certain she’d have the same luck if it were to happen again. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

The two girls stood up and walked out of the cave, but Marigold had forgotten the way back to the castle, and so they wandered around the realm for what seemed like hours. The air was still freezing, and after a while they only had a piece of _pan de muerto_ left.

The two girls stopped abruptly when they thought they heard a growl. They looked back, but saw nothing more than rocks and the ashy path they had come from. Another growl, this time from the side. Marigold instantly recognized those growling sounds.

“Marigold, run!” Sophia quickly grabbed her friend’s hand and the two ran down the path, just as Forgotten Beasts emerged from their dens and went after them like raving wolves chasing after two lambs. Neither Marigold nor Sophia knew where they were going, they just wanted to get away from the monsters. Marigold flapped her wings instinctively as she ran, wishing not for the first time that she knew how to fly.

Finally the two girls came to a dead end, and they turned around in horror to find a pack of the monsters closing it, licking their chops in anticipation for their meal.

“What do we do?!” Sophia yelled in terror, pulling Marigold behind her, being the oldest of the two.

“I don’t know…!” was all the godling could reply, as her wings wrapped around her body protectively, though it would do little effect against the claws of those beasts. She remembered the last time, how she almost died at the mercy of these creatures, her heart nearly burst out of her chest, while Sophia did her best to hide Marigold from view. But she couldn’t do anything as one of the monsters, probably of the younger ones, leapt at her and slashed her away, leaving deep claw marks at her side as she was thrown away.

“Sophia!” Marigold called out for her horrified, but she froze when the beasts’ attention turned to her, and she stepped back against the wall, tears of fright streaming down her cheek as a cry of fright escaped her throat.

“PAPI!!”

Just as the Forgotten beast lunged at her, suddenly a blur of black and green flew at her with the speed of a bulled and grabbed her, safely taking her in its protective embrace just as the monster attacked. She didn’t react, other than instinctively clinging to her savior’s protective arms, hiding her face into his chest, but soon she recognized that warmth and embrace.

When he found Marigold missing, he had sent all his servants to look for her everywhere inside _and_ outside the castle, while he freaked out. Had he hurt her so much last night? He feared the worst, what if something had happened to her, she did not know her way around! When he heard her screams from afar, he knew she was in danger, and he reacted like any overprotective, loving father would; he instantly teleported to her locations, and quickly scooped her into his arms before a forgotten beast could do any harm to her. Xibalba landed a few steps away, clutching his daughter close to his chest, his wings spread out and glaring daggers at the monsters.

The Forgotten beasts scattered away, whining under the murderous shadow of their Lord and Master.

When he was certain there was no danger, Xibalba started checking on his daughter for any injuries. “Marigold! Are you okay?!” she didn’t reply, but when he found no injuries on her, he pulled her close in an embrace with tears in the corners of his eyes. “I was worried about you!”

Marigold didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t react, she couldn’t even move. She was too much in shock to say anything, refusing to release her grasp on her father, burying her face into his chest, sobbing.

“M-Mister…?”

Xibalba reacted at the little voice coming from aside. He looked down and saw a Forgotten girl laying on the ground a few steps away. She was looking up at him pleadingly, but also with a twinge of fear in her eyes. He could tell she would turn into ash at any moment now.

“What is it, child?” he asked her gently.

“D-Do you know where my f-father is?” Sophia pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Your father?”

“I c-can’t find him… He must be down here, but we were separated… Could you help me find him?”

“…What’s your name, child?”

* * *

She didn’t know she had lost consciousness until she awoke hours later. She felt comfortably warm, and a hand gently stroking her head. She shifted, and her eyes cracked open to find herself back in her room, underneath her covers. Her vision was still a bit blurry, but she could see a dark shape next to her.

“P-Papá….?”

“Shhh.” Xibalba cooed, stroking his daughter’s head gently. “It’s okay, _mi florecita_. You’re safe now.”

“What happened?”

“You fainted after I found you. I was afraid that something had happened to you, but Regina said you were just unconscious.” He noticed she started to tremble. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you cold?”

“Are you mad at me?”

He thought for a moment. “… No, my sweet. I’m not mad.”

Marigold’s eyes swelled up with tears. “I’m sorry, papi… I didn’t mean what I said…” she was surprised when he placed a finger on her lips.

“I have nothing to forgive you, _mi pequeña_. All that matters now is that you’re safe and sound.” He gently told her, gingerly wiping the forming tears in the corners of her eyes.

Suddenly, she took notice of something. “Where’s Sophia?”

The smile on his face left, and it seemed like he was hesitant to answer the question. “Your friend?”

“Is she okay? Where is she?”

“Sweetie… You should know before anything that her birth name was Laura Pérez.”

“Well, where’s Laura? Did she get to reunite with her papá?”

When she asked that question, it took Xibalba a while to answer. Should he tell her? She sounded like she was really worried about her friend, and he didn’t want to crush whatever hopes she had for her.  “…Yes, my dear.” He felt bad about lying to her, but he didn’t want to cause her any pain. Marigold seemed to be more relieved about it. She sat up a bit in bed and hugged him, resting her head against his chest.

“Thanks, papi.”

“For what, my sweet?”

“For taking care of me.”

Smiling, Xibalba returned the embrace and pulled his daughter closer, planting a kiss on her head. “You don’t have to thank me, _mi florecita_. I’m your father, I do what I must to keep you safe, because you’re my baby, and I love you.”

“I love you too, papá.”

The two of them stayed like that for what seemed like hours, before they heard a growling sound. Marigold instantly clung to her father in fright, until she realized it was her stomach.

“Looks like you’re hungry, _mi florecita_.” The dark god chuckled, surprising his daughter by picking her up. “How about I tell Regina to make your favorite dish tonight?”

“Yay!” Marigold embraced her father as he took her out of her room, holding her close.

* * *

**Happy father’s day!**


	2. Bonus Chapter: Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a bonus chapter that explains what happened to Sophia while Marigold was unconscious.

After taking the girls back to the castle, the first thing Xibalba did was to take Marigold to her room, calling Regina to come and check on her. He stayed with his daughter the whole time, speaking tenderly to her, but Marigold remained unresponsive, still frozen in fear. A few minutes later, she lost consciousness; thankfully Regina said she was just in shock, and all she needed was some rest. Now they’d have to wait… and speaking of which, he had matters to settle with the other girl, Laura Pérez, or Sophia, as she had told Marigold to call her since she didn’t remember her own name.

After tucking his daughter in bed, Xibalba made his way to the dining hall, but did not reveal his presence just yet, he just stared at the Forgotten girl as she technically devoured the food in her plate. She probably had forgotten what food tasted like, it was no surprise she are like she was starving. Xibalba couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. At last, he decided he had watched enough, and stepped out of his hideout in the shadows, letting out a small cough to call the girl’s attentions. Laura jumped and spilled her hot chocolate on the table; panicking, she tried to wipe it away with her napkin, almost making Xibalba chuckle fondly. He recalled when Marigold was just learning to eat at the table by herself.

“Don’t be afraid, child.”

“Sorry, M-My Lord…”

“There’s no need for formalities, child. You may call me Xibalba.” He told her gently, taking his hands behind his back when he was next to her chair.

“O-Okay… How’s Marigold?”

“She’s fine, thankfully. I put her to bed, she will wake up in a few hours.”

Sophia looked down guiltily. “I hope she gets better…”

“Don’t worry, she will be alright. I know it, she’s strong like her mother.” He quickly regretted having mentioned his late wife, but it was too late. He decided to change the topic. “You said earlier that you were looking for your father?”

Sophia nodded. “Y-Yes! Is he around here?”

Xibalba remained silent for a few seconds, before replying. “This is not the best place to talk about that. Accompany me to the throne room, if you’d please.”

Reluctantly, Sophia left her chair and followed Xibalba down the dark halls of the castle, and into his throne room. It was very somber, his throne of obsidian lay at the end of the corridor-like chamber, with rivers of lava and mini snake bridged at the sides. At the end there was no wall, but a large opening which overlooked the Land of the Forgotten. Xibalba sat down on his throne and looked down at Sophia. “You may talk now, child.”

“My father, is he here? Can you f-find him? I want to see him so badly!”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy, child.” Xibalba gave the child a sad look. “This is not the Land of the Remembered. If you separate from your family there’s little chance you’ll ever reunite, especially since everyone here eventually turns to ash. “

“Please, could you try? I have to apologize to him!”

“Apologize for what, if I may know?”

“Well…” Sophia hesitated. “I h-had a fight with him, a-and… then b-bandidos attacked… the l-last thing I r-remember is s-seeing him… on the g-ground… he was bleeding…”

Xibalba couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor girl. He recalled he had also fought with Marigold the previous night, he still felt guilty about it. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try and help her, he owed it to her, after all, for sticking with Marigold while they were outside. He stood up from his throne and approached Sophia, looking down at her sympathetically. “I’ll see what I can do, child.” He said. “I need you to relax, and I’ll do the rest.”

Sophia trembled when the dark god placed his large gloved hand on her head, and closed her eyes shut. Xibalba closed his eyes as well, and then identified the girl’s aura, once he identified her he spread out a scanning spell through his realm, searching for a similar aura. It was similar to what La Muerte used to do in her realm to reunite families, but in the Land of the Forgotten it was almost useless, since the Forgotten forgot who they were and lost their aura. Sophia was lucky to still remember her identity, even though she had forgotten her name. Ten long minutes passed before he scanned all of the realm in search of the girl’s father.

There was no match.

Sighing, Xibalba removed his hand from Sophia’s head, looking down at her with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, child. Your father is gone, he must have already turned into dust.”

Silence. Sophia just stared up at him with wide eyes of disbelief. No… it couldn’t be. Maybe he hadn’t searched right. “C-Could you t-try again?”

“It’s no use, child. He disappeared; he’s turned into ash to be reborn. I’m afraid you will never see him again.”

Tears started trickling down her cheeks as she stepped back. “N-No…! Please t-tell me you’re l-lying! He c-can’t be…!”

“Sophia,” he addressed her by her name, stepping forwards to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It know it hurts, but-“

“No!” Sophia stepped away from him, sobbing uncontrollably. “He can’t be gone! Papa can’t be gone!”

He felt terrible for what she was going through. He wanted to help her. He stepped forward and kneeled down, pulling Sophia into hug; Sophia didn’t know what she was doing, she tried to pull away from his embrace, but he was larger and stronger than her. Finally, she couldn’t help it anymore, and hugged the dark god tightly, crying into his chest. Xibalba patted her back gently, shushing and speaking sweet words to her, telling her it was going to be alright.

It was a while before she managed to calm down. “X-Xibalba…” she sobbed. “C-Could you d-do something for me?”

“What is it, child?”

“Could you… make me disappear?”

Xibalba looked down at the child in shock. “What?”

“My papa’s gone, my mama’s gone… I have nothing left.”

“Sophia, I know you’re hurt, but you shouldn’t take any rash decisions-“

“I don’t want to live anymore, I don’t have anyone left.”

“Child, you could stay here.” He usually didn’t care about the fate of other souls, but this girl had helped by Marigold escape the Forgotten Beasts. He could tell his daughter liked her very much. “You can be Marigold’s playmate, you’d have somewhere to live-“

Sophia finally managed to calm down, and to step away from the dark god, looking up at him with a sorrowful expression. “Thanks for the offer, _señor_ , but… I don’t want to be an _arrimada_. And it wouldn’t be the same without my family, anyway. I just want to be with them, even if it’s on another life.”

Xibalba stood up, giving her a sorrowful look. “Are you certain of what you’re asking me?”

Sophia nodded solemnly. “I am. But before… could you tell something to Marigold?”

“What is it?”

“Could you tell her… thank you for everything? That she was a good friend, even if we only knew each other for a few hours?”

He nodded. “I will.” Reluctantly, he stretched out his hand to touch Sophia’s forehead… His hand was trembling lightly, he usually had no trouble with this, and actually liked it, but this time he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor girl. As his finger touched her forehead, Sophia started to disintegrate into ash that blew into the breeze. Before she disappeared, one more tear slid down Sophia’s cheek as she smiled sadly, staring into space. “Papi…”

Those were her last words before she vanished into thin air, her ashes blowing away on the wind.

Xibalba kept staring at the direction Sophia’s ashes had blown to. He wished he could have helped her, but what could he do about it? That was just how the Land of the Forgotten worked. Speaking of which, he better go check on Marigold, maybe she had already awakened… Xibalba walked out of the throne room, heading towards Marigold’s bed chambers. Once inside, he found her _still_ on bed, asleep. Sighing, the dark god walked inside and towards the bed when he stepped on something. Looking down, he found Rattles on the floor, forgotten.

He bent down to pick it up, and stared at it for a while; he had not noticed it was on the ground when he came inside in the morning. She had been so mad at him… Xibalba headed towards bed once more, sitting down on the edge and tucking Rattles next to Marigold. Marigold unconsciously pulled Rattles closer, smiling a bit in her sleep. Xibalba smiled too, and started stroking his daughter’s head tenderly. She was his baby, she’d always be, no matter how much she grew up.


End file.
